Dr. Rameshwar Sah

Dy. General Manager, JSW Steel Ltd., Vijayanagar Works, India

Dr. Rameshwar Sah is working with Research & Development Department of JSW Steel Ltd., India and played key role in developing numerous innovative processes for plant performance improvements and waste utilization. He has published 30 technical papers in International/National journals and 40 papers in Conference proceedings and has also filed 10 patents. He has authored two books in the area of Alternate methods of ironmaking and Composite pellet making. He has made significant contribution in developing processes for recycling and recovery of plant process wastes. He is recipient of the prestigious IIM Steel Eighties Award for the year 2013.

Topic: Value Generation From Steel Plant Process Waste

Abstract: Waste management in iron and steel industries has always been considered as a challenge. Around 900 kg of solid waste is generated for every ton of steel produced. Of the large quantities of slimes, dusts, sludge and mill scale generated during processing in an integrated steel plant, only a meager quantity is recycled while the rest is dumped as land fill. Dumping steel plant wastes in open or excavated land creates environmental pollution apart from huge financial liability. These process wastes contain valuable minerals such as iron, carbon, lime etc. The major challenge in recycling/reuse of these steel plant process wastes is their ultra-fine size, wide variations in composition, moisture and recovery components. Each type of dust or sludge demand different kind of treatment.

In recent years, these process wastes are gradually being recognized as an opportunity to reduce costs and generate revenue through effective management. JSW Steel has developed and adopted a number of innovative technologies by which these wastes are being effectively processed for recycling back into the process leading to conservation of natural resources, environmental mitigation and cost savings. Conversion of dusts into micropellets, mill scales into briquettes, recovery of iron values from slimes, dust and sludge through slime recovery plant and iron recovery plants are some of the glaring examples at JSW Steel. This paper deals with the characteristics of process wastes generated in an integrated steel plant and the technologies developed/adopted for their effective recycling and reuse in the process.